It is well known to manufacture capacitors by winding alternating layers of conductors and dielectrics onto a rotating core positioned in a winding machine. The dielectrics and conductors may be separate elements such as, for example, paper and foil strips. Alternatively, a pair of dielectric films may be employed, each of which carries on one surface a metallized layer which serves as a conductive plate of the capacitor. Examples of metallized film capacitors may be found in the following of my U.S. Pat. Nos. RE29,126; 3,921,041; 4,028,595; 4,263,638; 4,352,145; 4,312,027; and 4,558,394.
The capacitor section is normally wound upon a core which is a small cylindrical tube having a smooth outer surface and a center of hexagonal cross section which receives the rotating mandrel of the winding machine. A typical core might be, for example, three inches in length. If the capacitor section to be wound is shorter than the length of the core, it is customary to wind it upon the full size core. After winding, the excess core is simply cut off and discarded prior to completing the capacitor by applying electrical leads and encapsulating.
Small size capacitors can be mounted in a circuit with the electrical leads also serving as the mechanical support. However, larger capacitors normally require some type of external mounting means such as clamps--especially when used in devices subject to shock or vibration. This forces original equipment manufacturers to improvise a number of clamping arrangements and to keep on hand the extra hardware required to serve as clamps or other mechanical support. It would be desirable if the capacitor itself carried integral mounting means to thereby avoid the extra complexity.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention, to provide method and apparatus for supplying a capacitor wherein the mounting element is the capacitor core itself. Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.